LAX opens three new state-of-the-art gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal

Los Angeles International Airport officials unveiled three gates Wednesday at the new Tom Bradley International Terminal, showing off key facets of a project that is considerably behind schedule.

With Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa leading the ceremony, airport officials celebrated the gates, which are part of the north concourse of the new, more than $1.5 billion international facility. One of the gates has actually been open since September, while the two others became operational last week.

Among the new goodies: a laser-based, visual guidance system to direct pilots into their gates, automated boarding bridges and a system that allows airlines to board passengers through as many as three doors on the double-decker Airbus A380.

But according to the airport's ambitious construction schedule, these changes were to be visible long ago. Airport officials had hoped to have a much more substantial piece of the terminal completed by Dec. 12, 2012. Called phase one, that piece will include a new great hall with 150,000 square feet of food stalls, shopping facilities, airline lounges and even a play area for children.

Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director Los Angeles World Airports, said Wednesday that phase one should now be completed in July. Phase two, which will include new facilities for Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration, will now be finished at some point in 2014, airport officials said. Both phases include new gates.

Lindsey said part of the delay was due to a late decision to add a large-scale, integrated media system that will include massive video screens filled with information and advertising. There also have been minor construction issues.

"There has been a whole lot of unexpected utility work that we had to do when we got underneath the ground," Lindsey said. "That took a lot more time."

For now, the new concourse's amenities consist of one newsstand and restrooms. On Wednesday, however, city and airport officials were projecting confidence, saying the new terminal will help Los Angeles keep its place as a key aviation gateway. It is the third-busiest airport in the nation and sixth-busiest in the world by passenger traffic.

Lindsey and Villaraigosa said the new gates will help airline officials as they encourage more airlines to send their largest planes to Los Angeles. For now, five international airlines - Air France, China Southern, Korean, Qantas and Singapore - fly the A380 regularly to Los Angeles, according to airport officials.

Though he had once hoped the new Bradley Terminal would be further along by now, Villaraigosa said he is pleased with the project's status.

"Today we take another important step toward creating the LAX of the 21st century," Villaraigosa said. "When this terminal is finished, we will go from what many characterize as the worst terminal in the United States to the best in the United States."